Cable attaching means



y 9- H. c. GAITHER 2,165,542

' CABLE ATIACHING MEANS Filed May 4; 1937 INVENTOR.

ex'lel? 6? 00/71; er

ATTORNEY. I

Patented July 11, 1939 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE 2,165,542- 7 CABLEATTACHING MEANS Herbert O. Gaither, Detroit; Mich. Application May 4,1937, Serial No. 140,739

7 Claims.

This invention relates to cable attachments whereby a plurality ofcables may be attached to a suspended unit such as an elevator car in amanner which will provide for equalization of tension between aplurality of. cables and will also afiord adequateab'sorption of shocksbetween such cables and the car.

In elevator installations each elevator car is generally connected to acounterweight by means of a plurality of cables arranged to ride over asuitable grooved drum located at the top of the elevator shaft, whichdrum is rotated by the driving motor. In such installations it isessential that the weight of the car and the counterld weight be at alltimes equally distributed betwen a plurality of cables which mustnecessarily be used to safely support the car and still maintain a sizeof cable suitable for operation in. such an installation. When aplurality of cablesa reused to suspend an object having the weight of anelevator car it is somewhat of a problem to keep the tension on each ofthe cables at an equal amount mainly because of the difference in thelength of the cables atdiiferent times due to unequal stretch of thecables originally cut the same length, and further because of slightvariations in the diameter of the cables or the depth of the grooves ofthe drum in which they travel. Therefore, if no special means isprovided to equalize the load on several cables, the tendency will be topossibly throw the entire load at some periods in the operation on oneor two of the cables, thus causing them to wear out and requirereplacement at an earlier date than would be otherwise required. It istherefore of extreme importance that some means be provided for properlyequalizing the load between the cables.

Further than the actual requirement of equal load distribution betweenthe plurality of cables used, it is important that the vibration fromthe cable and the driving unit be absorbed so that it willnot betransmitted to the interiorof the car itself, or so that any vibrationcaused by sudden stopping or starting of the car will not only not betransmitted from the car through the cables and therefore into thebuilding adjacent the elevator shaft, but also objectionable jarring orjolting of the occupants of the car will be avoided. A' considerablenumber of equalizing and shock absorbing devices have been perfected andinstalled on elevators. A common type makes use of floating pulleysseverally connected to the ends of each individual cable, or pairs ofcables, and a single equalizing cable trained through all of thesepulleys and through corresponding pulleys attached to the car, therebyconnecting the plurality of cables to the car by means of a single cableunit which is supposed to equalize itself by automatic adjustment of theaforementioned floating pulleys. 5

Another method of equalizing cables provides a system of levers withsuitable fulcrum points connecting the several cables to the car bymeans of an equalizing hitch. Other types of equalizers employ springsin combination with types above mentioned for the purpose of absorbingshock.

The aforementioned types of equalizing devices require a considerablenumber of additional parts which add materially to the cost of theinstallation, and furthermore, each additional moving 1; part in thesetypes of devices introduces another possible noise making element whichadds rather than detracts from the noise produced by the'elevator andcables. Moreover, due to the amount 'of movement not only permitted butrequired in the prior devices for obtaining the desired equalizationeffects, they frequently fail to perform their intended functionproperly because ofthe time lag involved in taking up lost motion.

' It is a primary object of the present invention to provide attachingmeans for securing aplurality of cables to a unit to be suspendedtherefrom in such manner that the load on the cables is equalized whileat the same time providing a shock absorbing connectionbetween thecables '30 and the suspended unit.

It is a further object to provide attaching means for a plurality ofcables which will, with a minimum amount of relative movement, cushionthe impact of starting and stopping the elevator and damp out vibrationswhich would otherwise be transmitted. to the cables and to the buildingin which the elevator is operated.

It is another object to provide attaching means for a plurality ofcables which will equalize the 40 loads on a plurality of cables and atthe same time reduce the shocks which these cables are called upon towithstand, thereby to increase the length of time such cables may beused.

It is a further object to provide a cushioning means in combination witha cable equalizing unit whereby the unit suspended from the cables isprovided with means to prevent objectionable shocks and jarring.

It is another object to provide a rubber mounting for securing cables ofa multiple cable unit to a car, or other load, whereby the unit issuspended by said rubber mounting in such manner as to provide anadequate secondary support for use in case of failure of the rubbermounting.

It is .a further object to make use of standard rubber mountingsavailable in quantity for securing cables to a unit to be suspendedtherefrom for the purpose of both equalizing the tension on the severalcables and for use as a shock absorber between the cables and the unitsuspended.

Although the interposition of a rubber mounting between an elevatorcable and the car to absorb shocks is not broadly new, such proposalsfor the use of a rubber mounting as have heretofore been made, reliedupon using the rubber in compression, which has not proven highlysuccessful. In accordance with the present invention it is a principalobject to interpose the rubber mounting between the cables and car insuch a manner that the rubber is-initially distorted in a direction suchas to place it under shear and not under compression and so that jarringshocks are absorbed by movement of the rubber through the range wherethe load deflection curve is substantially a straight line, thusemploying to the fullest practical extent the more highly resilientproperties of rubber in shear than in compression.

The above and other objects of g the invention will appear more fullyfrom the followingmore detailed description of an illustrativeembodiment of the invention found practical for actual use, and byreference to the accompanying drawing forming a part hereof and wherein:

Fig. 1 shows a side view of connections for securing a plurality ofcables to an elevator car.

Fig. 2 is -.a section taken on line 22 of Fig. 1 showing further detailsof the connections.

Fig. 3 is a perspective view of one of the rubber mounting unitsused'for connection of the cables.

Referring to the drawing, Fig. 1 shows a top cross-member 10 of anelevator car to which it is desired to secure a plurality of cables,three of which, ll, 12 and T3, are shown in Fig.1. As shown in Fig.2 atl2 and I4, cables .are preferably arranged in pairs and connected to ayoke l5-pivoted at its center to the end of a rod 49, the yoke beingprovided with pin connections I! for securing suitable cable terminalsl8 of the cables l2'and M.

Again referring to Fig. .1, each pair of cables connected by theyoke,-as above described, is secured to a rod similar tow, the remainingfour cables of the six cable unit being suspended in pairs upon rods l6and'2ll shown in Fig. 1. The rods l6, l9 and 20 extend through themember Ill and are each secured to a rubber mounting unit shown in Fig.l at 2|, 22 and 23. Each of the units 2| and 22-is of sufficient lengthto bolt onto the under side of the member l0, while the unit 23, becauseof insufficient space on member ID, is bolted to an offset bracket 2d,.The rods I6, l9 and 20 each extend through-the mounting units 2|, 22 and23 and secure -to achannel member as shown which-forms apart of therubber mountinglater to be described .in detail.

Referring to Fig. 1 it is noted that the three pairs of structuralmembers here shown are in staggered relationship with each other, two ofthe units being placed directly on the crossbeam member ID and athirdpositioned lower than the other two on the bracket 24. Thisconstruction enables the rubber mounting units to overlap 'each otherand provides a means for bringing-the three pairs-of cables closertogether than would beipossible withoutthe use of a staggered positionfor the units. It'might-benoted also that the staggered positioningenables a unit of sufficient size to employ the quantity of rubbernecessary to give a sufficient deflection and effective shock absorptionand still maintain the practical positioning of the cables forinstallation on existing elevator units.

Each of the rubber mountings is made up in a standard unit as shown inFig. 3. It is composed of a base member 26 of .a channel shape inside ofwhich is secured a second smaller channel member 21, leaving a spacebetween the downwardly projecting sides of the channels 26 and 21 asshown in Fig. 3. An oppositely disposed and separate channel 28 isprovided of such width as to have its upstanding sides positionedcentrally in the space between the channels 26 and 21, By -a method nowextensively used, rubber is secured in the space between the channels 26and 21 and the sides of the channel 28 by bonding or adhering it to thesteel plates of the channel so that the channel-28 and the oppositelydisposed channels 26 and2'l are held in. spaced relation by the rubber29 securely bonded to the steel parts of thechannels.

The rubber mounting per se is preferably of a type now quite generallyused forother industrial applications and is made up byadhering thesurfaces of a block of rubber between two steel plates which arepositioned to move substantially parallel to each other for a limiteddistance when under load. The mountingis termed a shear mounting butbecause of the fact that the thickness of the rubber block is a materialamount the rubber is actually subjected to a substantial component oftension. Furthermore, the deflection properties of the rubber'mountingunder load is more nearly comparable to the properties of rubber intension than in' compression. 'Upon" reference to Fig. 3 it is notedthat the lower channel member 28 which has its upwardly extending legsimbedded inthe rubber 29 are so positioned as to provide a quantity ofrubber above the top edge of each of the legs. On considering theconstruction of the units shown in Fig. 1'it' is apparent that if at anytime the-load should be so great as'tocompress the rubber until theopening shown at 30 in Fig. 1 was entirely closed, there wouldbe somerubber in compression between the two top edges of the member 28 and thetop structural member 26. It can therefore besaid that there will neverbe a metal tometal contact between the two members even though the loadbe extremely great. It is also noted that the rubber will be stressed inshear for the greater portion .of the'travel allowed, but if extremeload is placed on a unit a quantity of rubber in compression will gointo action.

It isalso noted upon reference tothe drawing','particularly Figs..1 and2, that the members l6, l9 and'20 .are secured to the lower struc-vtural member 28 of the .units 2|, 23 and 22 in such manner that bothupward and downward movement of the cable extensionmembers, i. e. rodsI6, [9 and 20, isresistedby rubber in shear.

Oneadvantage of this-type of mou'n ting in-this particular application.is that the deflection of the rubber is substantially proportional tothe load and does -not increaseits resistance materially. orat asgreat-arate aswouldbe the case with many types of spring mountings. Theshear mounting also provides greater resilience than wouldube the casewithirubber in compression.

Inoperation of theunit asset up the pairs of cables are-equalized .by'the yoke l5' and-the equalization between the three units then remainingis accomplished by the rubber mountings 2|, '22 and 23, the deflectionof the rubber allowing vertical movement of the rods [6, I9 and 20sufiicient to bring any variation in length-of the cables to such aposition as to equalize the load between the three units. 'Not only doesthe unit accomplish equalization of the load between the cables, but itprovides a highly resilient mounting for the cable and car with itsresulting improvement in riding quality and in reducing noise.

As shown at 30 in Fig. 1 there is provided an opening at the top of eachrubber block and under the initial load of the elevator each block ofrubber will be deflected upwardly as shown by the dotted lines inFig. 1. The rubber mountings 2 I, 22, 23 areso designed withconsideration of the load to be carried that there remains a materialdeflection range of the rubber beyond that effected by the-initial loadfor purposes of both equalization of the cables and for damping ofvibrations which may be set up by the operation of the car and cableunit.

It is noted that the adaptation of the mounting for use as a cableequalizer requires that attaching members such as rods l6, l9 and 20extend thru the top channels 26, 21 and be secured to the lower channel28. By this construction when the mountings are secured to an elevatorcar as shown in Fig. 1 the advantages of the rubber mounting insuspension are made available while retaining the safety feature ofpositive metallic support in case of possible failure of the rubbermounting. This result is obvious on inspection of Figs. 1 and 3 sincechannel 28 is in effect interlocked with channels 26, 21. It is to beunderstood that failure of the rubber mountings is not a probable resultbut because of possible deterioration thru long use or because ofexcessive load it would not be practical to suspend an elevator in suchmanner as to obtain full use of the properties of rubber in shearwithout some secondary support such as this invention makes possible.

Although I have described my invention as applied to a particular unit,it is apparent that considerable variation in design might be usedwithout departing from the fundamental principles thereof and Itherefore do not desire to limit myself to the specific details ofconstruction but rather to the scope of the following claims:

I claim:

1. In a cable attaching device for a load to be lifted, a structuralmember secured to said load to be lifted having downwardly extendingprojections, a cable extension member projecting through said structuralmember, a second structural member secured to said cable extensionmember and positioned under said first mentioned structural member andhaving upwardly extending projections so spacedly positioned as toprovide an interlock with the downwardly extending projections on saidfirst mentioned structural member, and rubber blocks bonded to thesurfaces of said spaced projections thereby affording a rubber mountingbetween said structural members subjected to shear for normallysupporting said load to be lifted while said interlock provided by saidspacedly positioned projections assures adequate secondary support ofsaid load in case of failure of support from said rubber mounting.

2. In a cable attaching device for a load to be lifted, a plurality ofcables for supporting said load, a plurality of cable extension members,means for attaching said cable extension members to said load comprisingstructural channel members secured to said load having downwardlyextending projections,- other structural members having upwardlyextending projections spaced from the downwardly extending projections,one of said structural members secured to each of said cable extensionsandpositioned under each of said first mentioned structural members insuch position as to provide an interlock between said upwardly and'downwardly extending projections, and rubber blocks bonded to thesurfaces of said spaced projections whereby rubber mounting is providedbetween said structural members subjected to shear thereby to equalizethe load on said cables and to absorb shocks between said cables andsaid load while aflording adequate secondary support for said load bysaid interlock of said upwardly and downwardly extending projections incase of failure of support from said rubber blocks.

3. In a device for attaching a plurality of cables to a load to belifted, a plurality of attaching units each comprising a pairofoppositely disposed channel members of unequal width one secured tothe load to be lifted and the other secured to one or more of saidcables in such relative position that a lifting force on said cablescauses said pairs of oppositely disposed channels to approach each otherin interlocked relationship, and rubber blocks bonded to said oppositelydisposed channels whereby normal relative movement between said channelmembers is resiliently resisted by a shear load on said rubber blocksand the load equalized between the plurality of cables while saidinterlocked channel members provide adequate secondary support in caseof failure of support from said rubber blocks.

4. In a cable attaching device for connecting a plurality of hoistingcables to a load to be lifted, a plurality of structural members securedto the load to be lifted, extensions from said cables projectingdownwardly through each of said structural members, other structuralmembers of such size and shape as to interlock with said first-mentionedmembers, one secured to each of said extensions and positioned beloweach of said first mentioned structural members forming pairs ofinterlocked members, and rubber mounted in such position as to besubjected to shear secured between each of said pairs of structuralmembers thereby to equalize the load between said cables and to absorbnormal shock between said cables and said load while affording adequatesecondary support by said interlocked pairs of members in case offailure of support from said rubber.

5. In a cable attaching device for a load to be lifted, a plurality ofcables for supporting said load, a plurality of cable extension members,means for attaching said cable extension members to said load whilemaintaining relatively close positioning of said'cables comprising aplurality of structural members secured to said load positioned instaggered overlapping position through each of which structural membersone of said cable extensions projects, other structural members, onesecured to each of said cable extensions and positioned under each ofsaid first mentioned structural members and in interlocked relationtherewith, and resilient non-metallic noise insulating material mountedbetween said structural members in such position as to be stressed inshear under normal load thereby to equalize the load on said cables andto absorb shocks and noise 76 between said cables and said load whilesaid structuralmembers in interlocked relation assure adequate secondarysupport in case of failure of support from said resilient material.

6. In a cable attaching device for a load to be lifted, a structuralmember secured to said load to be lifted, a cable extension memberprojecting through said structural member, a second structural membersecured to said cable extension member positioned under said firstmentioned structural member, resilient non-metallic noise insulatingmaterial mounted between said structural members in such position as tobe stressed in shear over the major portion of the range of relativemovement of said structural members toward each other when said load islifted by said cable, and a secondary portion of said resilient materialpositioned to be stresed in compression over a short range toward theend of the range of relative movement-of said structural members towardeach other;

7. A cable attaching device for a load to be lifted: characterizedbyresilient material mounted in shear between a pair of structuralmembers of such relative size and'shape as to interlock with each other,one of the members of said pair being secured to the load to be liftedand the other member of said pair being positioned under said firstmentioned member in spaced interlocked relation, and means forpositively securing said cable to said second mentioned member such thatboth the upward and downward movement of said cable relative to saidload is resisted by said resilient material subjected to shear whilesaid interlocked structural members provide secondary support in case offailure of support from said resilient material.

HERBERT C. GAITHER.

